(Encyclopedia) Hines, Earl “Fatha” (Earl Kenneth Hines)Hines, Earl “Fatha”fäˈᵺə [key], 1903–83, American jazz pianist, b. Duquesne, Pa. The son of musicians, he played jazz piano in big bands as a…
(Encyclopedia) cat's-eye, gemstone that displays a thin band of reflected light on its surface when cut as a cabochon. Its name is derived from its supposed resemblance to the eye of a cat. The…
(Encyclopedia) killdeer, common North American shorebird related to the plover and the sandpiper. It is about 10 in. (25 cm) in length and its plumage is grayish brown with a double black band across…
(Encyclopedia) Pied Piper of Hamelin, legendary figure of Hameln, Germany. He rid the town of its rats and mice by charming them away with his flute playing. When the citizens refused to pay him the…
(Encyclopedia) Merman, Ethel, 1908–84, American musical comedy star, b. Astoria, N.Y., originally named Ethel Zimmerman. Merman's theater debut was in George and Ira Gershwin's Girl Crazy (1930).…
(Encyclopedia) wombat, shy marsupial of Australia and Tasmania, related to the koala. The wombat is a thick-set animal with a large head, short legs (giving it a shuffling gait), and a very short…
(Encyclopedia) MarseillaiseMarseillaisemärˌsəlāzˈ [key] [Fr.,=of Marseille], the French national anthem, written and composed in 1792 for the army of the Rhine by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a…
Source: U.S. Naval Observatory and NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Anaxagoras, in the 5th century B.C., is credited as the first to figure out the true cause of a lunar eclipse, but his…
(Encyclopedia) Berlichingen, Götz vonBerlichingen, Götz vongötsˈ fən bĕrˈlĭkhĭng-ən [key], 1480–1562, German knight and adventurer. The head of a band of free soldiers, he lost (1504) his right hand…
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